Improved method of securing rails of railroads



' UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

n. n. MAY, or eALEsBURe, ILLINOIS.

IVIPROVED METHOD OF SECURING RAILS OF RAILROADS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 7,799, dated November26, 1850.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, H. H. MAY, of Galesburg, in the county of Knox andState of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Foundation forRailroads; andl do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the construction and operation of the same,reference beingvhad to vthe annexed drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is an end view in elevation. Fig. 2 isa top or birds-eye view. Fig. 3 is a view of a pillar and arm asconstructed when the rails pass over a highway. Fig. 4 is a sideelevation. Fig. 5 is a top or birds-eye view of a rail with the uppertia-nge removed for the purpose of showing the manner of locking therails. Fig. 6 is a view of the clasp or saddle by which the arms aresecured together. Fig. 7 is a view ot' part of the arms, showing thetenons and socket and the recess for the clasp or socket by which theyare secured. Fig. S is a top view of the rail with the upper flangeremoved, showing the horns and the position of the arms before they arepressed together and secured by the clasp or saddle.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondingparts in each of theseveral drawings.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A A A, Figs. l, 3, and it, are pillars of conical shape and havingsuitable bases B, the bottoms of which are made slightly concave, asseen by the dotted lines. These bases are also made as light as may beand at the same time sufficientlyT strongto sustain the weight intendedfor them to bear. The pillars A A A must be of sufiicient length toallow the bases B B B to be far enough below the surface of the earth toavoid the action of the frost.

C C C are arms extending from the heads of the pillars to inore'thanhalf the distance to the opposite pillars. They may be fluted, so as toreduce their weight and retain strength. They are to proceed from thehead of the pillars sufficiently far below the upper surface of therails to admit of a flange on the carwheels large enough to prevent thecars from running off the track. (See Fig. l.) Vhen the rails are to becrossed by highways, the arms C C C are constructed as represented inFig. 3. It will be seen that they rise im inediately after leaving theheads of the pillars and sufliciently high to place a bridge ot' plankon the upper surface. l The flanges of the car-wheels pass between therails andthe plank, and a hook of cast or wrought iron D, Fig. 3, is toprevent the plank from encroaching upon the rails. Theupper surface ofthe arms C, as constructed in Fig. 3, is to be wide enough to sustainwell the ends ot' the plank.

e e, Fig. 7, are sockets about eight inches from the extreme ends of thearms, and ff are small tenons projecting from the arms at about the samedistance and fitting int-o the sockets e c.

E, Fig. 6, is a clasp or saddle, which sets over both arms when togetherand the tenons ff in the sockets e e, as described. It will thus be seenthat the arms C C C, pillars A A A, and their bases B B B are heldfirmly together. The saddle E, if made of wrought-iron, may be clinchedbelow the arm and opened by a small lever, when necessary to do so, inorder to make repairs.

g 71., Fig. l, are horns of the rail-chair, which are set diagonally asregards their relative position with the arms O C C. After the pillars AA A are set in the earth the arms G C O are turned some distance apart,as seen in Fig. 8, when the rails are readily placed between the hornson the chair, after which the arms C C C are again brought together andthe clasp or saddle F. fitted over the arms, by which operation therails are gripped between the horns g 7i and held in a firmer mannerthan can be done by either bolts or bars. Fig. S clearly shows theprinciple.

F (seen in most of the figures) is the I-rail, which is made of suitabledimensions and varied according to circumstances. The rails should beout to given lengths while hot by a gate so constructed as to cut thethick edges or flanges ij, Fig. 4, somewhat shorter than the center part7o, and also by the saine operation by means of dies locks are formed onthe projecting part k at the ends of the rail, as seen at- Z, Figs. 4and 5. When these locks are put together (see Fig. 5) and the arms O C Cbrought in con tact and firmly secured by the clasp and saddle E, thehorn g will press the inner ridge of the lock of one rail, while thehorn 7L will press the inner ridge of the lock of the other rail, thuskeeping the rails Irmly together, so that they cannot be separated untilthe arms C C C are disconnected and moved apart. The horns g 7L beingmade to press upon the rails in the manner above stated prevents thefoundation from inclining longitudinally, and the arms C C C beingunited, as described, prevents it from inclining,y transversely. Iprefer having the locks of the rails on one side placed opposite thecenter of each rail on the other side-What is commonly termed breakingthe joints.

The T and all other rails I make and interlock, substantially as hereindescribed.

The bases, pillars, horns, and arms are connected or'forrned of onepiece. The advantages of this foundation are the rm manner in which therails are secured by the horns when the arms are bound together, itscomparative low cost, and the great strength and durability which itpossesses.

The pillars, bases, and arms may be constructed of cast or wrought iron.I prefer cast` iron.

Having thus described the nature of my invention, what I claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The diagonal position of thehorns, by which, with the aid of the armsand clamps, the rails are secured in their proper position.

H. H. MAY.

Witnesses: l

W. C. WILLARD, JOB SWIFT.

